Retread

A few weeks ago I wrote an article for The Christian Century magazine. I thought it was a crisp, insightful, and thought-provoking piece . . . and so did the editor. But alas, there just wasn't a "place for it in an upcoming issue."

So, I rewrote it for another clergy mag and last week I got the word that it had been accepted as a "retread". That happens a lot in writing. A writer gets an idea, slants it for a particular magazine's tone and tenor, and then the piece dies on the vine and must be rewritten for another audience and tone.

I recently also sold another "retread" to an editor of a book series. That's fulfilling--the ability to be able to find something that is old, moldy and littered with dust and then find a home for it.

Next week I'm going in search of more treasure. I have piles (and I do mean piles) of written material that I have stashed away in filing cabinets, shelves and boxes. Hundreds of thousands of words, millions of words, and most of it I can't even remember where, how, or why I wrote it. Kind of like discovering gold in the backyard.

Excuse me...got to go dig now!